Major Corporations Rush To Applaud ‘Gay Marriage’ Ruling

In the aftermath of a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday, both news and social media outlets discussed little else. The landmark decision legalizes ‘gay marriage’ in all 50 states – a move many critics contend exceeded the judicial branch’s constitutional grasp.

Many directly affected by the decision, however, shared their joy over a perceived victory.

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Beyond the overwhelmingly positive reaction social media users expressed, however, was the immediate – and nearly universal – praise the ruling received from major corporations. A flood of tweets by Coca-Cola, AT&T, CVS and a host of other companies posted glowing endorsements of ‘gay marriage.’ Many linked to trending hashtags – such as #LoveWins and #LoveIsLove – in an effort to reach even more users with their posts.

While it is too early to tell if the calculated reaction to such a divisive issue will pay off for the companies that participated, early social media response indicates fans of certain brands were more eager to endorse the ruling than others.

Even among the largely positive response to posts by companies like Chipotle, however, are a fair number of critical opinions. Some of that backlash came on moral grounds…

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…while much of it derided these companies for ostensibly hijacking a weighty social issue to hawk a product or service.

Much of the opposition, however, dealt with the apparent hypocrisy with which ‘gay marriage’ advocates react to businesses with an expressed opinion on the subject.

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Though most of the comments are independent thoughts either in favor of or against the high court’s ruling, Southwest Airlines’ supportive tweet…

The Week published an article Friday chronicling the rapid response of public relations teams in the minutes after the decision was announced. Author Scott Meslow concluded that, while expressing a corporate position can have a potential upside, “there’s also something a little unseemly about the self-congratulatory eagerness as these brands have jumped to associate themselves with an extremely popular social movement – and, of course, managed to shoehorn in pictures of their products while doing it.”

Does a corporation’s stance on ‘gay marriage’ change your opinion of the brand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.